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Nostalgic 1950s photos that were almost lost for ever

Ray Stokes Old photo of seagulls at Aberdeen Harbour on fish boxes, others in flight, with old ships in the background.Ray Stokes
This 1958 photo captured seagulls feeding from fish boxes at Aberdeen harbour

An amateur photographer’s images from the 1950s have been generating fresh interest more than a decade after they were almost lost for ever.

Ray Stokes took his Voigtlander camera with him when he travelled on his motorbike around the UK and to places including Italy, Germany and Switzerland.

After his death at the age of 88, his son Simon rescued the collection of old slides which his mum Jill was thinking about throwing away.

When he started the lengthy process of scanning all the images he discovered more than 2,000 pictures from his father's life and travels.

Ray Stokes Ray Stokes with his old motorbike with a GB sign on the back, and buildings and a hillside in the backgroundRay Stokes
Ray Stokes motorbiked around Europe, taking photographs as he went, including here in Italy

There were pictures of people and landmarks around Scotland and the UK, along with images taken on the continent.

Ray had served in the RAF and was shot down over Germany during World War Two. He was taken prisoner after parachuting to safety.

One of the sites he later visited on his motorbike was the area which had been the target of that RAF mission.

Ray Stokes Old cream and blue-coloured single-decker bus negotiating a winding hillside road with green slopes in the background.Ray Stokes
Travel in the Scottish hillside was among the images captured by Ray Stokes
Ray Stokes Sign in old photo which says 'Stop: Devil's Elbow engage low gear' on a winding hillside road with an old car in the background.Ray Stokes
The Devil's Elbow is in the Blairgowrie area
Ray Stokes Man next to old car with its boot open with large iron bridge over water in the backgroundRay Stokes
The Forth Bridge was also photographed as Mr Stokes travelled around Scotland
Ray Stokes Castle behind trees in front of a river, with old cars on a road in between.Ray Stokes
Simon identified Inverness Castle in one image because his dad wrote a lot of information about his images
Ray Stokes Two men and two women standing on a shoreline holding large fish, with water, hills and clouds behind them.Ray Stokes
Mr Stokes took a photo of what he described as a "successful fishing trip"
Ray Stokes Morris dancers in traditional outfits in front of an old bus, and also someone in a horse outfit, with people watching in the background.Ray Stokes
Morris dancers were photographed in Chipping Norton in 1962
Ray Stokes Two women in dresses and head scarves ploughing a field using cattle pulling old plough equipment, with trees in the background.Ray Stokes
Ploughing in Germany in 1957 was among the images from Europe
Ray Stokes Aberdeen's Union Street with old cars and buses from the 1950s.Ray Stokes
Aberdeen's Union Street seen from the Castlegate area more than 60 years ago

Ray, who lived in the Blaby and Whetstone areas of Leicestershire, died in 2012.

Simon uploaded some of his father's images to a photo sharing site in 2017.

He also made a print of one image - showing seagulls at Aberdeen harbour - which hangs on his wall at home.

Simon, 58, from Enderby in Leicestershire, posted the picture on social media last weekend and was surprised by the reaction.

Stokes family Ray and Simon Stokes, both wearing shirts, ties and jackets, smiling, in front of a window, next to Jill Stokes wearing a pink jacket, with brickwork and flowers behind her.Stokes family
Simon Stokes - pictured with dad Ray and mum Jill - says he has inherited his love of photography from his father

"I thought it was a good image which possibly deserved to be seen, with an interesting back story, and it might generate some interest," he told BBC Scotland News.

"However, I wasn't quite expecting the response it has generated - I'm totally blown away."

The one image has had more than 4,000 likes and scores of complimentary comments, with one person describing it as "otherworldly, like a watercolour painting emerging out from a time labyrinth".

Simon said his dad would be "scratching his head" at the interest the pictures had generated all these years later.

He said he had inherited a love of photography from his dad – and that it was “scary” to think that all those images could have been lost.

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